Tom Clancy's HAWX

Review from AJ - Saturday, 20 June 2009 @ 4:26pm

I used to be a big fan of flight sims. One of the first 3D games I played was a game simply called Jet. Until I wrote this article I had no idea who wrote the game, or when it actually came out. After much searching I eventually found this screenshot which I instantly recognised as the game I once loved! I crashed into the end of that aircraft carrier so many times that I’d recognise the bastard anywhere...yes, even after more than 20 years! After a bit of research it turns out the game was made by a company called subLOGIC and was released in 1985; the same company that went on to make the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, one of the longest (if not THE longest) running series of PC games in history.

I don’t know how many versions of MS Flight Simulator I had. But it was a lot. For me it was the start of a flying craze. In a time when the FPS didn’t exist and racing games were limited to 2D racers like Outrun and pseudo 3D titles like Test Drive. Flight Sims gave a sense of freedom and realism not possible in games requiring roads, hills and street signs. Being in the sky or in space required fewer polygons and as a result Flight Sims often had the best looking games on the computers of the time.

MS Flight Simulator led me to F-15 Strike Eagle, Fighting Falcon, A-10 Tank Killer, and even helicopter games like Apache, Comanche and LHX Attack Chopper. If that wasn’t enough, the 90’s also saw the peak of space flight sims like Wing Commander, X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Wow... what a line-up!

At some point Flight Sims stopped being the staple diet of gamers and instead became the province of basement nerds with $200 joysticks. Of course we still had Arcade flyers like Afterburner and Ace Combat... but even these remain sideshows to today’s shooters, sports sims and racers.

It's pretty, but I don't remember it being this pretty

The main trouble with Flight Simulations is actually the word “simulation”. Landing a jet is actually pretty damned hard to do.....especially when it’s on a 250m long aircraft carrier. Not being shot down by an enemy missile in a 1 on 1 dogfight is also a pretty hard thing to avoid. And going solo against 6 enemy fighters pretty much means you’re screwed....no matter how good you are. So flight sims today find themselves in this strange pseudo-reality with high tech jets that are impervious to enemy missiles, and seem to never EVER have to land. The problem for me, however, is that if you take away the need for refuelling, take away the need to be able to land a crippled fighter on a carrier, take away the limited missile capacity of a modern jet fighter, take away the perilous nature of keeping an 8 tonne F/A-18 in the air whilst being shot at, the challenge just vaporises. Whilst arcade fight shooters can be fun, they tend to be a little on the dull side. A higher difficulty setting generally just means 30 enemies instead of 20....which only serves to make the whole thing 50% more ridiculous. In short, today’s arcade flyers are like Unreal Tournament compared to Ghost Recon. My problem is I like the latter far more!

Come fly with me, come fly, let's fly away...

So all of that leads in to why HAWX is both great but not as great as it could’ve been. HAWX is a really fun and exciting experience. It’s a little bit arcade, but a little bit simulation. It looks fantastic, the controls are great, and it does a great job of not alienating beginners. Like a lot of fighter sims these days, HAWX has two control modes (for beginners and for advanced players), but within that scheme there are two game play modes. The game provides a sort of “safety” net that is on by default that prevents the player reducing throttle too far too cause a stall, or climbing too steeply to again cause a stall. By turning this mode off, the player can execute far more thrilling manoeuvres in an attempt to out-fly their opponent. Whilst it is great to give the player a little more freedom to fly as dangerously as they like, it just reinforces how “unrealistic” the flying really is to begin with.

The first thing you’ll notice when in this mode is that the camera moves to a sort of third person view. Whilst it gives you a better view of the guy you’re trying to shoot at, and allows you to make some spectacular handbrake turns in the air, it makes it a little more likely that you’ll end up nose first into the ground! It also does another thing...it reminds you that you’re not in the cockpit, and that is where HAWX disappoints me a little. I rarely used this mode, simply because it destroyed any sense of immersion.

The ground looks nice from here...not so nice when you get close...

The third person angle isn’t the only immersion destroyer. Just a guess, but if I was defending Rio de Janeiro from an air, land AND sea attack... I reckon I’d spare more than 3 fighters for the challenge. Whilst it makes for a really exciting battle, it can also result in a sense of invincibility; and I think that is bad for any game. When you feel as though you can overcame ANY opposition no matter how strong they are, that is when the realism slips away. It doesn’t matter how pretty the ground is when you’re constantly reminded that you’re playing a video game.

One big plus for HAWX is the variation in missions. You’re never left playing mission after mission of bombing runs, nor are you left fending off infinite waves of fighter jets. Even when the missions are similar in objective, you’re given different tools to do the job, or in some cases wildly varying conditions in which to fly. Some bombing runs will have you using radar guided missiles, whilst some involve tricky ground targeting runs. Even a simple SAM seek and destroy mission is made a lot more interesting when you have to avoid radar detection on the way in for the kill. In addition to bombing missions, there are several “protect” missions. This may be protecting ground forces, or another aircraft, and in some cases you’re left defending an entire fleet of ships. This variation is what keeps HAWX interesting and exciting.

Yeah...I don't remember seeing anything that nice either...

HAWX is nearly the game I wished it was, but missed by the tiniest amount. If HAWX had a “realistic” mode which gave you a few more wingmen (who were also more useful) but also reinstated things like “red outs” and “black outs” (which come from turning too fast), limited fuel and gave you a realistic number of missiles (so that you don’t feel like you can fire 5 at each enemy...just cos), then it would be a return to the grand old days of jet fighter sims. You haven’t flown a jet until you’ve done a mid-air refuelling with half a wing missing in my opinion! The game is still really fun, and the missions are varied enough and exciting enough to keep you gritting your teeth all the way to end. But after all is said and done it comes out feeling a little less “real” than we’ve come to expect from Tom Clancy branded games. I don’t have a problem with appeasing the masses, but Tom Clancy games have become synonymous with knuckle whitening realism and just a decent sprinkling of good old fashion “why do I suck so much” frustration.

Pros

Preeeety Good old fashioned flying fun Widely varied missions Not a flight simulator

Cons

Player feels invincible Third person view ruins immersion (and is required during Assistance OFF mode!) A little too nice to newbies Not a flight simulator

Summary

Being a Tom Clancy game, I expect a lot more realism, a lot more dying and a lot more mission restarts. I'm almost disappointed that the game is a heap of "fun" instead of "really challenging". Overall a great game and a lot of fun, but too many "assists" make it a bit of dunce's flight sim. Although, that is probably a good thing for most of population!